The present exemplary embodiments relate to phosphor compositions, particularly phosphors for use in lighting and other applications. More particularly, the present embodiments relate to novel green emitting phosphors, blends incorporating such phosphors and a lighting apparatus employing these phosphors.
Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are semiconductor light emitters often used as a replacement for other light sources, such as incandescent lamps. They are particularly useful as display lights, warning lights and indicator lights or in other applications where colored light is desired. The color of light produced by an LED is dependent on the type of semiconductor material used in its manufacture.
Colored semiconductor light emitting devices, including light emitting diodes and lasers (both are generally referred to herein as LEDs), have been produced from Group III-V alloys such as gallium nitride (GaN). With reference to the GaN-based LEDs, light is generally emitted in the UV to green range of the electromagnetic spectrum. Until quite recently, LEDs have not been suitable for lighting uses where a bright white light is needed, due to the inherent color of the light produced by the LED.
Recently, techniques have been developed for converting the light emitted from LEDs to useful light for illumination purposes. In one technique, the LED is coated or covered with a phosphor layer. A phosphor is a luminescent material that absorbs radiation energy in a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum and emits energy in another portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Phosphors of one important class are crystalline inorganic compounds of very high chemical purity and of controlled composition to which small quantities of other elements (called “activators”) have been added to convert them into efficient fluorescent materials. With the right combination of activators and inorganic compounds, the color of the emission can be controlled. Most useful and well-known phosphors emit radiation in the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in response to excitation by electromagnetic radiation outside the visible range.
By interposing a phosphor excited by the radiation generated by the LED, light of a different wavelength, e.g., in the visible range of the spectrum, may be generated. Colored LEDs are often used in toys, indicator lights and other devices. Continuous performance improvements have enabled new applications for LEDs of saturated colors in traffic lights, exit signs, store signs, and the like.
In addition to colored LEDs, a combination of LED generated light and phosphor generated light may be used to produce white light. The most popular white LEDs consist of blue emitting GaInN chips. The blue emitting chips are coated with a phosphor that converts some of the blue radiation to a complementary color, e.g. a yellowish emission. Together, the blue and yellowish radiation produces a white light. There are also white LEDs that utilize a near UV emitting chip and a phosphor blend including red, green and blue-emitting phosphors designed to convert the UV radiation to visible light.
Known white light emitting devices comprise a blue light-emitting LED having a peak emission wavelength in the near blue range (from about 440 nm to about 480 nm) combined with a yellow light-emitting phosphor, such as cerium(III) doped yttrium aluminum garnet (“YAG:Ce”), a cerium(III) doped terbium aluminum garnet (“TAG:Ce”), or a europium(II) doped barium orthosilicate (“BOS”). The phosphor absorbs a portion of the radiation emitted from the LED and converts the absorbed radiation to a yellow light. The remainder of the blue light emitted by the LED is transmitted through the phosphor and is mixed with the yellow light emitted by the phosphor. A viewer perceives the mixture of blue and yellow light as a white light. The total of the light from the phosphor material and the LED chip provides a color point with corresponding color coordinates (x and y) and correlated color temperature (CCT), and its spectral distribution provides a color rendering capability, measured by the color rendering index (CRI).
Such systems can be used to make white light sources having CCTs of >4500 K and CRIs ranging from about 70-82, with luminous efficacy of radiation (“LER”, also referred to as luminosity) of about 330 Im/Wopt. While this range is suitable for many applications, general illumination sources usually require lower CCTs and higher CRIs, preferably with similar or better LER. As the CCT is lowered and/or the CRI is increased, the LER value generally decreases, leading to values for “warm white” LEDs (of CCT<4500K) significantly lower than those for “cool white” LEDs (of CCT>4500K).
One particularly preferred application of white LED devices made from blue emitting chips and yellow emitting phosphors is for backlights, e.g. in cellular phones, personal digital assistants, and the like. These applications require high CCT values (greater than 5000K), which are readily provided by the aforementioned LEDs, with LER values of 280 Im/Wopt or greater.
The CRI is commonly defined as a mean value for 8 standard color samples (R1-8), usually referred to as the General Color Rendering Index and abbreviated as Ra, although 14 standard color samples are specified internationally and one can calculate a broader CRI (R1-14) as their mean value.
Other white light LED lighting systems use a UV or visible light LED chip along with a blend of red, green, and/or blue phosphors that can be efficiently excited by near-UV radiation to make white light.
Current green phosphors that can be excited by ultraviolet/blue LEDs, such as SrAl2O4:Eu2+ or (Ba,Sr)2SiO4:Eu2+ have issues with strong luminescence quenching at high temperatures (T>100 C) or hydrolytic instability. This can limit their use in a variety of applications such as general illumination lighting as well as display backlighting.
LED chips emitting in the green region of the spectrum (e.g. with a peak wavelength from about 500 to 565 nm) are known in the art. However, LED quantum efficiency is adversely impacted in this wavelength interval, for any known chip chemistry. This is also referred to as “the green abyss” and has resulted in pursuing green phosphor converted LEDs, e.g. made with highly efficient near UV chip and highly efficient green phosphor.
Thus, a continuing need exists for new green emitting phosphors and blends incorporating the same for use in conjunction with UV and visible LED chips that are stable in water and in high humidity conditions, and have virtually no thermal quenching at T>100 C.